ADHERING so far to the terms of its nuclear deal, Iran is now busy taking most of its uranium centrifuges out of operation. That is a bitter pill for a regime that invested so much prestige in its atomic programme, but the only way to escape economic sanctions. Optimists hope that if Iran can trade more freely with the outside world, living standards will rise; investors hope for fat profits. In leafy north Tehran, Iranians back from America’s west coast and eager young foreign fund managers discuss possible ventures over sushi.
No one doubts that Iran has potential. With almost 80m people, it is the world’s 17th-most-populous market; and many Iranians lack even basic goods. The country has competent farmers, carmakers, drug firms and a fairly sophisticated service sector, making it less dependent on oil, now at rock-bottom prices, than other big producers such as Iraq and the Gulf states. The government’s target of 8% growth over the next five years is less unrealistic than many rivals’ five-year plans. Economists talk of Iran being able to imitate Turkey’s transformation in the late 1990s.
But by itself, sanctions...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/1XiFP0f
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